Top Tips for First Days

You might love or loathe ‘Wolf of Wall Street’, but one scene that really struck a chord with me was where a young Jordan Bellfort (new to Wall Street) was invited to lunch by his new boss, Mark Hanna (Matthew McConaughey). Hanna is a quirky character, but clearly an inspiration and a strong influence. We see far too many organisations where the first day is spent reading through the HR manuals or visiting another office to pick up IT. Day One should be inspirational; it should be spent (or at least in part) with a successful leader in the business.

If your Day One, for new employees, has turned into One Day (and indeed your Week One has turned into One Week) then what changes should you make. Our top 5 tips below:

• It starts before Day One – a welcome pack is delivered (personally I like to include two Champagne flutes and a bottle of fizz, some company stationery and a personal ‘welcome to …’ letter).
• Lunch with the boss on Day 1- set the vision for the organisation, reinforce all those goals alluded to in interview, be inspirational (evening one should be the new employee raving to family and friends about how certain they are that they made the right choice joining our merry band).
• Restrict time on their own, but do allow time to reflect and time to record aspirations and goals. A learning log for the first couple of weeks is a chore, but administered properly it is useful tool for identifying gaps in induction and training onboarding. Managers can also quickly head of any doubt or concerns.
• The Welcome pack is powerful because it allows the new employee to celebrate with immediate family or friends. Try and maintain this work to home bridge. The odd letter sent home to let an individual know how pleased you are with a specific piece of work or an approach to a problem is far more powerful than a thank you in the office. On the occasions when a partner questions any extra hours spent in the work place, it is an easily justifiable retort, ‘but you know how much they value me!’
• Week One should lay out possible career paths and steps to achieve an upward move. Appraisals then become so much more meaningful when the individual knows what must be achieved in order to move from Account Executive to Account Manager or from Manager to Senior Manager etc.